Large Sunspot AR3576 in White Light 10/02/24

[PeterStudz]

I was Lucky and on a day without work, but between clouds I manage to get some good views of the super sunspot group AR3576. I could even make it out with just eclipse glasses. Apparently there were 36 individual spots in this group when I was looking. At times the seeing was reasonable and I managed some decent, if brief, views at good magnification.

Although by the time I tried to take an image conditions had deteriorated and my single shots did not turn out well. However, this video (converted to a short animated GIF) gives a good feel of what it was like at low power. Not what I was trying to do/get but thought I’d post it anyway. 

AR3576 has now gone from view, but it looks like there’s potentially another big spot - AR3590 - on the eastern rim just coming into view. Hopefully we’ll actually get some clear skies!

Southampton urban back garden. Skywatcher 200p Dob, DIY white light filter with Baader AstroSolar Safety Film. BST StarGuider 15mm. iPhone 14 Pro on no-brand smartphone adapter. Video 4K at 60fps taken using the stock camera app. Cropped plus basic editing in the stock camera app. Converted to GIF via ezgif.com.